‘The Office’: John Krasinski ‘Could Not Stop Laughing’ at Steve Carell in This Episode

Steve Carell is one of the funniest comedic actors of our time. His perfect balance of humanity and absurdity make him not only hilarious, but lovable. Perhaps his funniest character to date is none other than Michael Scott in The Office. Carell’s portrayal of Michael and his antics is hilarious to watch from the comfort of one’s living room, but can you imagine acting opposite him in a scene in real life? It’d be tough to get through with a straight face. At least, John Krasinski thinks so.

According to Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Kransinski had a particularly hard time getting through Season 2, Episode 13, “The Secret.”

“The Secret”

“The Secret” takes place just after Michael learns that Jim has feelings for Pam. The episode revolves around Jim trying to keep Michael from telling anyone about their conversation.

Meanwhile, Oscar calls in sick on the day the employees are scheduled to do spring cleaning. Dwight is, of course, not convinced that Oscar is really sick. So Michael gives him permission to investigate.

By the end of the day, Michael has spilled the beans about Jim’s feelings for Pam. So Jim talks to her and tells her the truth before anyone else can first. But he says he had a crush on her a long time ago, not currently. However, shortly after their conversation, Michael tells Pam that Jim still actively has feelings for her.

The episode involves a lot of Jim/Michael quality time, as Michael thinks Jim letting him in on a secret has catapulted them into best friendship.

John Krasinski could not get through his scenes with Steve Carell

The scene that takes place in the break room with Stanley was difficult for Krasinski to get through without laughing.

“In that scene, John could not stop laughing. He could not stop laughing,” Fischer said on an episode of Office Ladies Podcast. “This whole episode John had to do a lot of scenes with Steve and he really loses it. This is one of those scenes.”

“John, when he loses it, his whole body collapses. He just becomes a noodle,” added Kinsey.

A few scenes later, Michael visits Jim at his desk to invite him to lunch (Hooters). He puts his leg on Jim’s desk when he asks and Krasinski found the move particularly funny.

“John lost it. I was there that day filming. John could not stop laughing,” said Fischer. “And part of it, too, was that desk is so high and it was not easy for Steve to put his leg up there but he was super committed to the bit. It was something he just came up with, and it made John laugh so he just kept doing it.”

At the end of the episode, when Michael is apologizing to Jim, Krasinski also broke.

“John’s performance in this scene — he’s so silent and it’s just this mixture of compassion and disappointment. He’s taking it all in. But the truth is John couldn’t stop laughing. Again,” Fischer shared. “John couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t handle it.”